Jennifer Lopez's 'Unstoppable' Exits Theaters After One Week with $3,900 - Career Setback or a Strategic Move for Awards?
After opening in UK theaters for just one weekend, Jennifer Lopez's latest film "Unstoppable" has left, taking just $3,900 with it.
Yet, while the box office returns have raised eyebrows, there may be more to it than meets the eye.
The film follows the story of wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with just one leg but still emerged as the NCAA champion.
It opened on December 6 in limited release but quickly fell off the radar and became the 55th most-watched film in its bow.
If the theatrical run was a failure, it's a failure that industry insiders say was by design.
According to Daily Express UK, an unnamed source said the film received a short release to qualify it for awards, including the Oscars.
This is the qualifying process that many streaming films use to be eligible during awards season.
"The film 'Unstoppable' was released for one week in order to qualify for Awards, e.g. Oscars. A lot of streamer films do this in order to be able to qualify for nominations and why there was no fanfare or premiere," the source told Daily Express.
"It is simply a qualifying run. 'Unstoppable's official release is Thursday January 16th on Amazon Prime Video worldwide," they continued.
Meanwhile, Lopez's "This Is Me... Live" tour also faced difficulties earlier this year: Her tour was scrapped in multiple cities due to poor ticket sales.
In addition, her new record, "This is Me... Now," only tentatively landed at No. 38 on the US Billboard 200 and disappeared completely.
Those blunders aside, insiders remain optimistic about "Unstoppable," which is gearing up for its digital release.
The ensemble cast of its film included Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena, and Don Cheadle.
Lopez is still fighting through a rough year of personal and professional challenges, so fans are yet to see how "Unstoppable" does against the competition on streaming platforms next month.
